MSP Bill Walker says “Scrap Trident”

05/04/2013

Dunfermline MSP Bill Walker has lent his support in the Scottish Parliament to the Scrap Trident campaign. The campaign – which operates under the slogan: “Let Scotland lead the way to a nuclear-free world” — calls for a weekend of protest and action in Glasgow and Faslane from 13th to 15th April.

Mr Walker said: “Despite 80 per cent of Scots wanting rid of Trident and despite the Scottish Parliament voting overwhelmingly against Trident’s renewal, the London government continues to foist this unwanted obscenity upon Scottish shores. And now the Tories intend to renew Trident, meaning it will remain on the Clyde for at least another fifty years.

“I am utterly opposed to replacement on principle, but what makes matters worst is that up to £100 billion is about to be squandered at a time when the ConDem coalition is inflicting some of the cruellest welfare cuts against the poorest members of Scottish society.”

Mr Walker also referred to comments recently made by David Cameron, who claimed: “… the fact is North Korea does have nuclear technology that is able to reach the whole of the United States. If they are able to reach the whole of the United States, they can reach Europe too. They can reach us, too.”

However, experts have rubbished the Prime Minister’s statement of “fact”’, concluding that the idea of a North Korean nuclear weapon reaching the United States, let alone Europe, is “extremely unlikely”.

Mr Walker said: “On his recent rare venture to Scotland, I couldn’t help being struck by David Cameron’s ‘Korea’ claims and their similarity to the evidence-free WMD assertions made by Tony Blair about Iraq. Even Michael Portillo, the right-wing former UK Defence Secretary, dismisses Mr Cameron’s claims as ‘absurd’ and says there is no need for Britain to have Trident.”

“£100 billion is far too high a price to pay for posturing on the world stage. The only way Scotland can be free of Westminster’s misguided ambitions is to vote Yes in next year’s independence referendum.”